Cop Eyes – Christ Eyes

Luke 11:34 - Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light.

2 Corinthians 4:18 - So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The police academy is a high stress experience. The goal is to prepare rookie police officers for the challenges of working the street. It is as demanding as military basic training. Each day I spent in my academy followed a common format: yelling, push-ups, marching, exercising, writing reports, taking tests. The four training officers assigned to our academy class were intimidating. Their uniforms were immaculate, they were in excellent physical condition and they intimidated the heck out of a bunch of twenty something police recruits, me included.

Every morning we lined up at the back of the building and marched in four ranks to the flag pole at the academy entrance where we would stand for inspection. On one particular day, there were four police cars spaced evenly at the front of the building. We stood at attention until the training officers walked out the front door and told us to stand at ease. We moved by rank to stand at one of the four police cars. The training officers split up and each stood in front of one of the cars.

Training Officer Williams walked to our group and without a word, jumped up onto the hood of the car. It was entirely unexpected and surprised everyone. He looked out at our group and said, “This…is a police car.”

We laughed. It was stating the obvious but what followed was not.

“Soon you will develop cop eyes.” I thought the guy was nuts. It seemed silly to me and it made no sense. A year later, I realized that what he told me was absolutely correct. I learned how to “see” criminal behavior. My ability to recognize the furtive movement of a hand, a glance away as I drove by in my patrol car or a sudden turning movement by a nervous driver all became part of what Officer Williams described as “cop eyes.”

More important than my “cop eyes” are my Christ eyes. They are nothing I can learn, nothing I will gain by years of experience; they are a gift from God through His grace. These eyes are shared by all believers. We see past the poor reflection of the world and discover the hope that is found through the Savior.